Comfort Food - Loaded Baked Potato Soup - Yum!

There's nothing like a hot bowl of soup when it is freezing outside so I decided to make on of my favorite types of soup last week. I usually only get to eat Loaded Baked Potato soup if I go out to eat, but I wanted to try to make it myself this time and it came out delicious!

I mostly followed a recipe I found online, but I did alter it a bit to thicken and also lower the calories a bit. So I swapped 2% milk for heavy cream and added some instant mashed potatoes when it seemed just a little too thin. But here is the basic recipe:

In a pot put about four cups of chicken broth. (Homemade stock or chicken stock from a can).

Skin and cut 6 medium sized potatoes into 1-2" cubes.
Cut 1 medium or large onion and add to pot
Boil with 2 tablespoons butter.
When potatoes are thoroughly cooked mash potatoes to preference (I accidentally mashed all of them and wished I'd left some chunks in it - some like soup chunky and some smooth)

Add 1 cup milk (or cream if you wish it to be thicker)

1-2 cups shredded mild cheddar

Season with salt and pepper to taste

Optional: add some sour cream to help thicken and make richer)
Also Optional: add instant mashed potatoes until soup is consistency you like.

Garnish with chopped bacon, shredded cheese and/or green onions.

There you have it - super easy, quick and simple. I had all of the ingredients in my kitchen and it is a hearty yummy soup to have on a cold winter's day.

Happy Monday!